Love and passion, cutting up the wasteland.

Chapter 523 Cooperation
"When will the next batch of support...other troops in the swamp and our Ashes Cult people arrive?" Lu Meng asked.

"When I set out, I saw General Kang reorganizing the troops," Meier replied. "As for the members of the Order, it may be a little later, but it should not be more than a month."

At present, Lumeng’s development in Shandi is in full swing.

But his base.

In fact, it is still in the swamp.

——To be honest, the people in the swamp have never seen such a king of the swamp. Not long after he ascended the throne and stabilized the situation, he went out non-stop to develop new businesses.

It seems like a huge dense forest.

It's not enough to bother with.

Of course, Lu Meng's analysis and judgment of the situation still convinced them. At least the Rotten Town did not have a major war with the Sand Bandits as expected.

And after the layout is perfected.

There is also cooperation with the Shark Kingdom.

Everything was in good order and developing freely. There was really no need for him, the king of the swamp, to be in charge of the operation himself, so he just let him do it.

——Otherwise, how can we stop it?

As long as the swamp develops, the foundation will be strong, and no matter how the outside world changes, at least it can be contained.

For example, from common sense.

The food production from the grasslands in Shem is not enough to support the current population of the stronghold.

But as soon as the grain transport team arrives from the swamp, the problem will be solved, even if the share given to the Shek Kingdom is only one-tenth.

And that’s not even the limit of the swamp.

Even Kurt, the boss of the dancing skeleton, had never mentioned it to outsiders and seemed a little hesitant.

But Lu Meng just knew it.

During the Second Empire, the swamp area was a large granary capable of supplying the entire continent, and the general who guarded this place was also known as the "Head of Agriculture."

In contrast.

The current grain production of the swamp is only supplied to the Stan Desert and the Shan Land, two areas with small populations to begin with...it can only be considered a small effort.

However, we need to restore it to its ancient glory.

This cannot be achieved relying solely on the current farming model. We must rely on the old empire’s advanced technology to accelerate industrialized production—and their finished products have been destroyed in the past.

That's why.

This triggered the great famine that marked the beginning of the destruction of the Second Empire. After all, the food of the entire continent depended on the swamps at the time. Once the supply was cut off, the disaster caused can be easily imagined.

This is also the downside of over-centralization.

In Lu Meng's plan, as far as food is concerned, first of all, he needs to constantly interpret the scientific and technological knowledge left over from ancient times. Secondly, even if he can reproduce them, food production will not be limited to swamps.

It can be said that we have learned from the lessons of our predecessors.

"After entering the dense forest, the sect followed the route you left behind and opened those 'forbidden areas' and 'ruins'..." Mail was still introducing them with great interest, "and obtained a lot of holy books."

That is, ancient science books.

In the priest's opinion.

Those Oaklandites were fools enough to ignore these treasures when they once owned the entire swamp.

Even if it is dug out.

They also regarded it as a dark apocryphal scripture, sealed it up with disgust and fear, and even dared not destroy it for fear of releasing the devil's temptation...

Simply missed the truth.

It was different when it fell into the hands of the Cult of Ashes. Every symbol in the book was taken out and studied as if it were a treasure.

And the Grand Master who marked these locations.

This undoubtedly further confirmed his identity as the First Fire - otherwise how could he have so accurately opened up these lost teachings and knowledge to the cult...

Although Lu Meng really wanted to say it.

This is not reserved for you.

Stabilizing the situation in the swamp and then thoroughly excavating the ruins inside had been his plan long ago, but he just happened to catch up with the Cult of Ashes entering the jungle.

This man's hands would be wasted if not used.

Lu Meng didn't want to interrupt Mailer's enthusiasm.

Just from the other person's tone.

He had a premonition.

The research department that he was still preparing for might become the most peculiar department in the entire swamp...

"However, to do serious research, we still need real scientific research talents, especially the pioneering parts," Lu Meng thought, "even if the current work is just 'archaeological translation'." Even if it is archaeological scientific research.

You have to be able to learn and understand it.

The model that really suits the Order of Embers is that others first take care of the "science" part, and then formulate technical specifications, using religious scriptures and worship ceremonies to let believers learn how to do the specific operations.

This is true even for the most illiterate people.

There is also the opportunity to become a skilled tradesman in a certain field, thus significantly improving the quality of the workforce.

"So... do you want to cooperate with the mechanic?"

When it comes to professional researchers.

That must be the mechanic.

They even follow the orthodox university and research institute model of higher education, and members who graduated from the End of the World have become local bachelors and consultants in many places.

Only compared to the mechanic's ideal of resurrecting technology.

They also lack the ability to popularize and transform production, and can only rely on printing some illegal pamphlets that are considered contraband in the Holy Congress to make a living...

It seems to be a perfect match with the Order of Embers.

"However, mechanics have always been aloof and are very reluctant to cooperate with specific forces. After all, once they make their stance clear, they may be attacked by their opponents." Lu Meng stroked the hilt of the knife and looked into the distance.

[Faction Relations: Mechanic (Neutral)]

Neutrality is not absolute, that is, it is absolutely not neutral.

In the past, if he had directly joined the Mechanics and gone to the End of the World for further studies, there might have been a possibility of cooperation... but that would be the academic black technology route.

Now Lu Meng has become the leader of the power.

The other party may not reject him.

But they will also be extra vigilant.

Unless you come up with something attractive enough that the mechanic can't refuse.

For example, the artificial intelligence core.

But... Lu Meng still has reservations about whether to share its research with the mechanic.

The mechanic will be alert.

So why isn't he?

Treat people with sincerity.

But there is no guarantee that the other party will reciprocate.

It would be too rash to play such a big card right at the beginning.

However, although it is difficult for the mechanic to start with.

Lu Meng has another route.

【——Tech Hunter (Friendly)】

Compared to the pedantic mechanics, the style of the tech hunters is undoubtedly much more down-to-earth.

The other party is a stable collaborator of the mechanic.

And Lu Meng himself.

It just so happened that he had a silver card of registration authority issued to him by a technology hunter himself, and the relationship level could reach "friendly" because of this.

After so many times of getting along.

His cooperation with technology hunters has always been harmonious - apart from asking for extremely high prices, there is basically no other problem.

This may be a breakthrough.

After listening to Mail's report on the activities of the Cult of Ashes in the swamp, Lu Meng's thoughts became clearer, and he also made plans for the next strategic direction in his mind.

However, for the present.

"...a month?"

too slow.

It was too late to wait for support from the Swamplands and the Order of Embers—too late to even wait for the extension of the new line of defense.

He must go to the eastern part of Shem now.

Go to the White Eyebrow Clan.

Completely eliminate the threat of beast disasters to the land of Shan.

(End of this chapter)